


i can be your angle...or yuor devil

by Pootin



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Humour, Just to clarify: the title is a meme, reads like a cheesy romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26395105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pootin/pseuds/Pootin
Summary: “Go up to her, and ask her if she wants to get out of here.” Lilith advises self-assuredly from her left. “Women love confidence, trust me.”“Sure, you can do that, if you want to creep her out. Listen, just buy her a drink and strike up a conversation. Take it slow!” Camila retorts from the other side._In which Ava’s shoulder devil and angel make life far more complicated than it needs to be. Ava’s not crazy, but she just might be for the woman at the bar.
Relationships: Shotgun Mary/Shannon Masters, Sister Beatrice/Ava Silva, Sister Camila/Sister Lilith (Warrior Nun)
Comments: 46
Kudos: 191





	1. I Don’t Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify: the title is a meme
> 
> I fully get that the premise seems weird, but stay with me here, it's a lot of fun!
> 
> Italics are Ava's thoughts.

“How do I look?” Ava asks, standing in front of her bedroom's full length mirror, fiddling with her hair as she looks at her reflection. 

“You look lovely! The leather jacket is a nice touch.” Camila says, perched on Ava’s shoulder with a radiant smile.

Lilith pops out from behind Ava’s other shoulder, stifling a yawn as she stretches and plops down into a sitting position. “Eh.”

Ava flicks a finger at Lilith, it goes through the tiny devil, her figure morphing around the motion.

“I know you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I thought you’d have learned by now that that doesn’t work on us.” Lilith says, quirking up an eyebrow and giving Ava a disappointed look.

“Oh I know that. It’s the thought that counts.” Ava smirks as she hears Camila stifle a laugh next to her.

The spiritual beings that resided on her shoulders had been with Ava for as long as she could remember. When she was a lot younger they were far less frequent, coming and going only when required, but they were still there for her. Even though Lilith was the devil, she wasn’t as evil as one would assume a devil to be. She’d only ever suggested grievous bodily harm once (or twice) as far as Ava could recall. All in all she was a fairly laid back, albeit irritating, devil on Ava’s shoulder. 

Camila was as angelic as an angel could be, always there trying to lead Ava down the path of righteousness. She succeeded most of the time, though occasionally she was guilty of getting caught up in Lilith’s trickster habits. Spending enough time with a devil would do that to you.

Ava cherished the two of them. She had no explanation as to why they were there and how she was able to interact with them, nor did she go looking for one. As far as she was concerned, everyone had an angel and a devil within them, hers just liked to hang around a bit more than the others. She’d never wished for them to leave, especially not when they’d been her main source of friendship as a sickly young child. Constantly being stuck in a hospital bed had left Ava with a lonely childhood, which had been improved greatly by her palm sized biblical friends.

Occasionally she wondered whether that was why they gradually began to spend more time with her. Perhaps they took pity on the bed-bound kid with dead parents, and decided to stick around outside of when they were needed. She didn’t think about it often, it didn’t do well to dwell on the past. 

Camila clears her throat jolting Ava out of her thoughts. “I don’t mean to alarm you Ava, but you’re kind of running late.”

Ava checked her phone. “Oh shoot. It’s nearly half ten, thanks Cam! No thanks Lilith.”

“You’re welcome.” Lilith says with a roll of her eyes before disappearing in a small cloud of smoke.

Ava makes sure she has everything. Phone, keys, purse. Check, check and check. She pulls on her black heeled boots, switches off the lights in her flat, locks the door and heads out, running down the stairs carefully so as to not trip over anything.

The Cat’s Cradle was only ten minutes walk from Ava’s flat, and it wasn’t quite late enough in the evening for it to be completely dark yet, so she enjoyed the image of the early evening sky. Streaks of orange and white were painted across the normally blue horizon, making for a relaxing walk. 

Some guy whistles at Ava from the side of the road and she can practically _feel_ the heat burst upon her shoulder, she rolls her eyes and chuckles as she hears Lilith mutter out a stream of expletives, all directed towards creepy men on streets and what she’d do to them (if she was allowed to).

“I’m proud of how far your self-control has come Ava, but you know, I can turn a blind eye occasionally.” Camila says, watching in amusement as Lilith throws up a middle finger at the stranger.

“Nah, it’s cool. Some people just aren’t worth any of your time at all.” Ava says, continuing to walk, not giving a damn at all if people thought she was crazy to talk to herself. 

“That is unexpectedly wise of you, Ava, but we all know you could totally beat the shit out of that guy if you really wanted-” Lilith is cut off as a halo is thrown her way, bonking her on the head before getting caught on one of her horns, rocking back and forth as it hangs there. She glares at Camila and pulls the halo off, chucking it back at the angel who has on her best innocent face. Lilith clears her throat and re-evaluates what she was going to say. 

“What I mean is, good job. Though technically I shouldn’t really be saying that…” Lilith muses to herself. 

The two had rubbed off on each other over the years and formed some sort of weird, frenemy relationship along the way. Ava could remember them bickering constantly when she was a kid, each one trying to lead her down the path they respectively stood for when moments came for her to make decisions. Now they’d both mellowed out considerably, resembling more balanced humans than devious devils and faultless angels. Ava liked to think that it meant she was well balanced too, or some form of stable at least.

Her phone rings from somewhere on her body, she fishes it out from the depths of her jacket pocket and looks at the caller ID before picking up the phone.

“Hey JC I’m so sorry! I’m literally like thirty seconds away I swear.”

JC just laughs through the phone at Ava’s antics. “Woah chill out! I was just making sure you were okay, that’s all.”

Ava sighs. “I’m good, don't worry. I'm outside now, see you!”

She hears her friends whooping through the phone before hanging up and putting her phone away, plucking her ID out of her jeans and smiling at the bouncer who lets her in with a nod straightaway. He was already used to seeing Ava around the area anyways.

She immediately finds her friends doing shots around a table near the dancefloor. Chanel spots her and waves her over, holding up a shot glass especially for Ava. She practically skips over, and graciously accepts the shot, throwing it back before quickly realising what it really was. 

“Water shot? Very funny.” Ava says in a monotone voice looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“Not my idea girl, trust me.” Chanel says unimpressed, side eyeing JC and Randall across the table who are cracking up at the prank. 

“I’m gonna go get a drink, you want anything?” Ava asks, getting ready to head to the bar. 

“A million bucks if you can.” Chanel calls out over the music and Ava just shakes her head and laughs. She zig zags through the groups of people, a little ‘sorry’ here and and ‘excuse me’ there as she navigates her way to the bar, smiling as she sees her friend.

“Hey Mary!”

“Sup Ava, how’s it hanging shaka brah.” Mary says with a straight face, wiping down the counter in front of her. 

“Never say that to me _ever_ again.” Ava cringes with a shudder.

Mary just laughs like she’d achieved what she’d set out to do. “Terrorising you is my second favourite activity.”

“What’s the first?” Ava asks, genuinely interested. 

“Cleaning up after drunken idiots.” Mary deadpans, giving Ava an accusatory stare.

“Oh? I thought it’d be smooching up on Shannon.” Ava pouts her lips and makes kissy noises, only stopping when Mary holds up the dirty rag in her hand menacingly, threatening her with a faceful of god knows what.

“Alright, what’s it gonna be tonight?” Mary asks, ready to fix up whatever concoction was requested with expert swiftness. Ava runs her eyes over the various drinks on display in the cases, slightly blinded by the bright lights, until they land on a lone figure at the end of the bar.

_Holy shit._

At the opposite end of the room was a gorgeous woman, sitting seemingly alone, nursing a drink in her hands. Was she a hand model? She had the most amazing hands Ava had ever seen in her life and-

“Oh my God you’re a mess.” Lilith groans, pinching her forehead with her forefinger and thumb. 

_I thought you guys were gone?_

“We sensed something was up and came back to check, but it seems you have it under control. You do have it under control...right?” Camila doesn’t seem too sure that Ava does indeed have it under control. 

_You know me better than I know myself. What do you think?_

“I think you’re about to completely fuck this up is what I think.” Lilith says, before adding on somewhat sarcastically with a sly smile, “Pardon my french, _angel._ ”

“Vous êtes pardonné, diable.” Camila mutters back, but there's no contempt in her voice.

_Okay, less weird flirting, more helping me please!_

Camila and Lilith both sputter at the statement, speaking over each other as they denounce any claims of ‘weird flirting’ going on between them. Ava rolls her eyes internally, regretting ever bringing it up.

“Fine, we’ll help you out.” Lilith says, taking a deep breath, and Ava swears she can see the fire behind her eyes as she rubs her hands together.

“Go up to her, and ask her if she wants to get out of here.” She advises self-assuredly from Ava’s right shoulder. “Women love confidence, trust me.”

“Sure, you can do that, _if_ you want to creep her out. Listen, just buy her a drink and strike up a conversation. Take it slow!” Camila retorts from her other shoulder.

Ava groans quietly and whispers under her breath. “Why can’t you guys just agree on something, literally _anything_ , for once!”

Mary stares at her, a concerned look on her face. “Dude, who the fuck are you talking to?”

_Oh shit, did I just say that out loud?_

“Yep.” Both Camila and Lilith say in unison before disappearing simultaneously too.

“Oh, uh, I was- just talking to myself. As you do.” Ava says making it up as she goes. “Like I just can’t decide on a drink. So, so many drinks. You know what, I'm gonna go get a drink!”

“You’re already at the bar-” Mary doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as Ava makes a beeline for the other side of the bar, mustering up the courage to approach the woman on the way there. She racks her brain for something to say, if she doesn’t rehearse it at least ten times in her head she’ll probably fuck it up amazingly. 

_What’s a pretty girl like you doing all alone? No, ew, definitely weird._

_Come here often? Weird too. Also, very cheesy._

_Can I get you a drink? Yeah, nice and friendly, let’s just go with that._

Thankfully it was less crowded down the other end of the bar, and whilst there were no stools free there was enough space for Ava to squeeze in next to the woman. She takes a deep breath, runs her hand through her hair and adjusts her leather jacket. 

“What’s a pretty drink like you doing here often?” Ava asks, sidling up next to the woman and putting on her most charming smile. 

There’s a moment of silence between them as the words sink in. 

“Um, come again?” The woman says, eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking thoroughly confused and Ava realises that she’s just spoken pure nonsense.

“I mean- what’s- do-” All Ava can see are the other woman’s deep amber eyes lit up by the obnoxious LED lights at the bar, and she loses all ability to speak. “Drink?”

To Ava’s surprise, the woman simply laughs slightly, more amused than weirded out by her erratic behaviour. Ava would’ve understood a hundred percent if the other woman had wanted nothing to do with her, but instead she seemed to be open to conversation.

“Sorry. Sorry, I’m not laughing at you.” She says, bringing her hand up to her mouth, regaining her composure. “My name’s Beatrice, what’s yours?”

“Ava.” Ava replies, picking up on a British accent in Beatrice’s voice. “Ava Silva.”

“You sound like you’re at a job interview, loosen up!” Lilith goads her.

_Now is really not the time._

“Come on Lilith, I think Ava can handle this.” Camila sighs, tugging at Lilith’s arm.

“Can she? Because it looks like-” Lilith disappears mid-sentence, most likely taken away by Camila back to...wherever it was they went to when they weren’t hanging around her.

“Nice to meet you Ava.” Beatrice says with a soft, distracting smile.

“Likewise, Beatrice.” Ava replies, and she no longer feels like she’s in the back of a dark club surrounded by a mass of tipsy bodies fixing for their next drink. “What I was _trying_ to say earlier was, can I get you a drink?”

Beatrice looks pleasantly surprised. “Sure. I’m nearly done with this one.”

Ava calls over one of the bartenders. “Two gin and tonics please, thanks Vincent!”

He smiled and nods, gathering the items needed to make the drinks.

“So Beatrice, who’re you here with?” Ava asks, looking around the club, she spots her friends moving into the middle of the club, the dance floor getting more and more crowded by the moment.

“Oh, I’m actually…” Beatrice pauses and stares into her glass, chuckling nervously before continuing. “I’m here by myself.”

“Cool, no shame in that.” Ava says, trying to make Beatrice feel more comfortable. She looked out of place in the club, Ava couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, it was something about her aura. 

_Her aura? What the hell am I talking about._

“I’m new to this area.” Beatrice expands on her previous answer. ”Just moved here last week for a new job.”

She couldn’t have been that much older than Ava, barely a couple of years she reckons, but there’s a maturity to Beatrice that makes her different to the club goers surrounding them. It was in the way she carried herself, posture perfect with her back straight at the bar, looking more like she belonged in a posh restaurant in her smart-casual wear. 

“Oh yeah? What do you do, if you don’t mind me-” Ava's question is cut off by two gin and tonics being placed in front of them. She has her card out ready to pay, but is stopped by Mary’s hand. 

“On the house.” Mary says with a wink, she gives Ava an encouraging look as she turns around to tend to the other customers.

“Thanks Mary!” Ava shouts over the music, picking her drink up and taking a sip. Going into this interaction with no alcohol in her system was her first mistake.

“Do you come here often?” Beatrice asks, observing the interaction between Mary and Ava.

“Yeah, I live literally up the road so I’m pretty acquainted with this place.” Ava laughs, half out of nervousness. “Not that I’m an alcoholic or anything.” She adds on quickly.

“That’s good to know.” Beatrice says, half laughing, looking at Ava over the rim of her glass.

Ava laughs too, mainly because she had a tendency to laugh a lot, but also because something about Beatrice made her want to laugh all the time. She’d known this woman for all of five minutes and already she could feel the telltale signs of a crush forming. The butterflies at the bottom of her stomach, the heat rising to her cheeks, all indicative of a _‘uh oh I’m falling hard and fast’_ moment.

“Oh right, I work at a translation agency, but mainly do a lot of freelance work. I thought this would be a good way to meet new people.” Beatrice looks around the dark club, a disappointed look on her face. “Then I remembered people don’t talk much in clubs.” 

Ava curses the universe for having her meet Beatrice in the Cat’s Cradle on a Friday night. She could only imagine how much better it’d have been if they’d met in a place where the other woman was more in her element, like at The Arq café or even the goddamn library. 

“When was the last time you visited the library?” Lilith chimes in, finger stroking her chin. “Oh yeah, never.”

_Hey, you don’t know, maybe I would’ve woken up tomorrow wanting to read Weathering Nights._

“It’s Wuthering Heights, Ava. Wuthering Heights.” Camila corrects her gently.

_Oh, right, anyways we’re getting off topic._

“Well, you’re talking to me.” Ava says to Beatrice, a small smile on her face. She lifts up her glass and tilts it towards Beatrice. “To new friends?” 

Beatrice returns the smile and completes the gesture, clinking their glasses together. “To new friends.” 

“Big mistake, by the way, you’ll never be able to get rid of me now.” Ava says after taking a swig, relishing in the way Beatrice rolls her eyes jokingly.

“Since I’ve told you my occupation, what is it that you do?” Beatrice asks, turning the spotlight onto Ava.

“I sell drugs.” Ava says flippantly, watching in amusement as Beatrice does a double take. “Wanna know which one?”

Beatrice eyes her warily but nods anyway. 

“Caffeine.” Ava says, breaking out into laughter afterwards at the look on Beatrice’s face. She loved using that line. “Although in my spare time I shoot people, and hope to make a career out of it.” 

“Photographer?” Beatrice catches on quickly.

Ava clicks her tongue. “Bullseye.”

She takes a large gulp of her drink, finishing it off as an idea pops into her head. 

“Hey do you wanna dance?” Ava asks excitedly, her fingers tapping on Beatrice's own to get her attention. She misses the way the other woman freezes up slightly at the contact. 

“Oh, I’m really not much of a dancer.” Beatrice says eyeing the congregation of sweaty bodies at the center of the room. “Actually that’s a gross understatement, I couldn’t dance to save my life.”

“Everyone always says that, and then they end up having a high school musical two ‘I don’t dance’ moment.” Ava says laughing at her own joke. “Hey Vincent! Two shots of vodka please.”

“You don’t have to take the shot, by the way, I just think I _might_ need two to make it through that.” She vaguely gestures towards the crowd of bodies. She scans her card over the reader, and thanks the bartender as he pours out the vodka.

“I’ve already done more than I usually would be doing on a Friday night, one more shot won’t hurt I guess.” Beatrice says with a deep sigh, picking up the glass and raising it.

“Cheers to that!” Ava says laughing, knocking their glasses together before throwing it back, grimacing slightly as she felt the burning alcohol run down her throat. “Oh yeah, that was needed.”

Beatrice downs her shot, immediately breaking out into a coughing fit afterwards as she pats her chest. “I haven’t done that in...a while, and I don’t remember it burning _that_ much.”

“You can trust the Cat’s Cradle, they don’t water shit down here.” Ava places her shot glass back on the counter and stretches her neck, twisting her head left and right before shaking herself up. “Ready?” She holds out her hand, and waits for Beatrice to take it.

The other woman studies Ava’s hand, and hesitantly places hers into it. Ava smiles, relishes in the contact and gently wraps her fingers around Beatrice’s. She leads her to the dancefloor, weaving in and out of the crowd until they’ve reached what feels like the center. It’s hot, the heat of a hundred dancing bodies surrounding the two. They’re jostled about, it’s chaotic and Ava can sense Beatrice’s nervousness, even through the sensory overload.

“Nobody here’s watching you. Trust me. They’re either _way_ too drunk, or high, to remember anyways.” Ava says, leaning in close to Beatrice's ear so she can hear her over the thumping bass. She feels more so than hears Beatrice's breathy laughter on her cheek at her statement.

“How about this. We’ll both close our eyes, so that way we definitely know no one's watching.” Ava offers, acutely aware of how close her body is to Beatrice’s, how the dozens of other dancers around them push them closer. 

“I can get down with that.” Beatrice giggles, and it’s entirely unfair how hypnotic it sounds, the only thing that registers in Ava’s ears even over the obnoxiously loud EDM. 

“Three. Two. One.” Ava counts down and closes her eyes slowly, allowing her body’s instinctual response to the music take over. It’s strange, not being able to see what’s going on around her, the music sounds louder this way. Her other senses are heightened and she swears she can _feel_ Beatrice’s presence.

_I know I said wouldn’t look but…_

“A quick look won’t hurt, she probably won’t even notice given how dark it is.” Lilith reasons. 

“Yeah, plus if she catches you taking a sneak peek, it’ll mean she was too. You can make a joke out of it.” Camila backs Lilith up, garnering a raised eyebrow from the devil. 

“Well well well, it seems we do agree on something, as you requested Ava.”

_Since we all seem to be on the same page..._

Ava cracks her right eye open just the slightest and catches a glimpse of Beatrice illuminated by the flashing lights, her eyes shut tightly and mouth in a wide smile as she dances freely. Ava opens her eyes fully, unable to shut them or look away, all she can do is stare. She’s aware of the fact that her movements have slowed down, barely dancing anymore as she’s trapped in Beatrice’s presence. Her short-ish hair bounces around her like silk waves and it all plays out in slow motion.

Beatrice opens her own eyes eventually, probably sensing the burning gaze on her and catches Ava staring. Ava wants to say something along the lines of ‘you’re beautiful’ because she is exactly that, beautiful. But she can’t quite form those words, her mind hazy and adrenaline fuelled.

“You’re the Chad to my Ryan.” Ava says and she’s fully aware of how dumb it is before it even leaves her mouth, but then Beatrice is leaning against her, clutching her stomach in laughter and it’s worth every stupid joke she’s ever made before. 

The night passes in a haze of drinks and ear drum blasting music. At some point near midnight Ava introduces Beatrice to the rest of her friends and they dance together, inhibitions well and truly gone. The hours go by and people begin to trickle out, moving onto other clubs or going home to crash after an alcohol fuelled craze. Her friends too start to leave, and Ava motions for them to go ahead without her, earning her a wink from Chanel and an enthusiastic thumbs up from JC.

Beatrice and Ava stand outside of the club, both inhaling the refreshing air and regaining their footing. 

“Are you going to be alright getting an Uber?” Beatrice asks, she pulls out her phone.

“Oh no, I’m gonna walk home.” Ava manages to get out in between her giggles, still riding on the high of the evening.

“Are you sure?” Beatrice asks, eyebrows scrunched together in concern.

“Yeah it’s fine, like I said I live not too far from here. I just walk along the main road.”

Beatrice still looks unconvinced. “You know what, let me just call you an Uber.” She says after a brief moment of contemplation.

“Bea, it’s alright seriously.” Ava says using the nickname she’d just come up with. The other woman doesn’t protest against usage of said nickname, so Ava takes that as a green light.

“You’ve bought me enough drinks tonight. It’s the least I can do.” Beatrice presses on, opening up the Uber app. “What’s your address?”

Ava just looks at Beatrice who doesn’t back down from her stare. Their staring contest lasts for what feels like hours, and Ava takes the opportunity to memorise every fleck of gold in Beatrice’s eyes.

“Carrer de Loreto, 38.” Ava concedes after a minute, though she’s not really sure how long they’d actually been looking at each other for.

Beatrice looks at her, eyebrows raised in mild shock. “That’s the apartment block opposite me.” She says, laughing in disbelief. Ava doesn’t quite believe it at first, but Beatrice doesn’t show any signs that she's joking.

Ava leans against the lamppost next to them and gazes up at the stars. “Of all the places in Barcelona. I think this was fate.” She whispers the last part, hoping to come off as suave as she’s able to in her drunken state.

“Call it whatever you’d like. I call it a cheaper ride home.” Beatrice says, her lips curling into a smile as she hears Ava’s dramatic gasp. 

“Oof, ouch. That one hurt, dude. It hurt _real_ bad.” Ava puts her hand over her heart in mock pain as Beatrice just laughs at her theatrics. 

She holds up her phone with the confirmation on the screen. “Uber’s on its way. Address is there, just so you know I’m not kidnapping you.”

“You see, the fact that I didn’t even think about that? _That’s_ how much I trust you, Bea.” Ava says tapping a finger on her temple.

“That is...quite reckless, and dangerous.” Beatrice says, shaking her head and laughing. “I have a feeling you’re going to be a handful.”

“Oh, I am _more_ than a handful.”

Beatrice averts her eyes, her cheeks turning a faint shade of red.

The cool night air had always sobered Ava up quickly, she can already feel her head clearing, no doubt the bad decisions would come up quickly in the morning. Literally. 

Their Uber arrives and they get in, spending the relatively short ride home in a comfortable silence. Ava watches Beatrice out of the corner of her eye, the other woman has her head against the car window, staring out into the Spanish city. The streetlights periodically shine light upon her face, casting a soft orange glow over her features. 

Ava thinks she looks like art. 

They reach their destination and exit the car, thanking the driver. They’re stood in front of Beatrice’s building, and Ava still can’t believe that she’s really this close. Won’t believe it until she sees Beatrice walk into the building. 

“Could I get your number? Just so we can stay in touch.” Ava asks, taking her phone out and handing it to Beatrice. 

“Yeah, sure.” Beatrice passes Ava her phone as well and they type their numbers in, returning it once done. 

“Thank you for tonight.” Beatrice says warmly, genuinely. “I’m glad I’m not completely alone in this city anymore.”

Ava has never really known loneliness. Even as a solitary orphan she had Camila and Lilith by her side, and she thanked the universe everyday for that. If she didn’t have them, she honestly doesn’t know what would’ve become of her.

“Of course.” Ava says quietly. “I’m here for you, and I know you barely know me, but if you ever need a tour guide, I’m happy to help.”

Beatrice chuckles under her breath. “I might take you up on that offer.”

They look at each other and there’s a palpable tension in the air.

**_There you see her_ **

**_Sitting there across the way_ **

**_She don't got a lot to say_ **

**_But there's something about her_ **

_Okay who’s playing that song?_

“Camila, obviously, she tried to get me to dress up like Sebastian.” Lilith says holding up a costume. “Just because red is my thing, doesn’t mean I’m going to be a lobster.”

“Aw I thought it’d really suit you though!” Camila says, pouting at the devil, halo glowing brighter than usual.

**_And you don't know why_ **

**_But you're dying to try_ **

**_You wanna kiss girl_ **

“Your puppy dog eyes are _not_ going to work on me.” Lilith crosses her arms and avoids Camila’s eyes.

Ava is drawn back to reality by the sound of a cough. 

Beatrice points towards her apartment building. “It’s getting a little late so…”

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I’ll uh, I’ll see you around?” Ava says, voice pitching up hopefully at the end. 

“Of course. I’ll see you soon.” Beatrice smiles fondly. “Goodnight, Ava.” She turns and enters the apartment building, throwing a wave over her shoulder.

“Night, Bea!” Ava shouts before remembering that it’s late, or early depending on how you chose to see it. She claps her hand over her mouth, smiling when she sees Beatrice laughing as the lift doors close on the other side, and then she’s gone.

Ava stuffs her hands into her jacket’s pockets and leans her head back, smiling at the stars.

**_Sha-la-la-la-la-la_ **

**_Ain't that sad_ **

**_It's such a shame, too bad_ **

**_You're gonna miss the girl_ **

_Thanks, Camila._

“Sorry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next chapter planned out (predictably I got carried away). I really hope you enjoyed this, I had this idea randomly and literally couldn't stop writing until the first chapter was finished. I just thought the idea of CamiLil as Ava’s personal angel & devil could make for some fun adventures. I could've happily spent another few hours adding more, but then my brain would explode, so I'm just posting it now!
> 
> Disclaimer: This was not sponsored by Uber.
> 
> ❤️Thank you for reading! Let me know what you thought of this fic, as always appreciate every kudos and comment left❤️


	2. Small World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo I am so sorry it's taken me ages to update! I have a tendency to leave things unfinished, but I've written a bunch of the future chapters, so this story will be finished one way or another!
> 
> Shoutout AJ and nanialbee9 for inspiring some parts of this chapter with their comments 😄

“Hey Ava!”

“Afternoon Shannon, looking good as always. Anything special planned for tonight?” Ava asks nonchalantly, already knowing what the answer would be. 

“I have a sneaking suspicion Mary’s filled you in on our plans.” Shannon says with a fond smile. “Though I’m sure you have our anniversary memorised.”

Ava _did_ indeed have their anniversary memorised, she would never forget the day Mary had told her about Shannon. It had been six years ago, Ava fifteen and Mary on the cusp of turning eighteen. The older girl had returned from her first date with Shannon that night, and had been uncharacteristically open about her emotions. 

Ava would never forget the way Mary had spoken about the other girl, with such raw honesty. _She’s different Ava, there’s something about her_ Mary had said. In all the time Ava had known the older girl she’d never seen her like that and so, sitting on the staircase of their care home that night, she’d decided that Shannon must’ve been Mary’s soulmate. Ava didn’t care if it sounded ridiculous to have met your soulmate at only eighteen, she’d seen it happen to Mary. 

When eighteen came and went for her, and she was still out of one soulmate, she’d been pretty disappointed. But eighteen did mean she could finally leave the care system, and start forging a life for herself, something she’d been dreaming of ever since she’s ended up in her first orphanage.

Relationships were...difficult for Ava. She was self conscious about many aspects of her life, from her lack of parents to the group care home she’d spent her childhood in, and that wasn’t even mentioning the debilitating illness that had left her immobilised for a good chunk of her life. She was able to overcome her hurdles through sheer willpower and hours of physical therapy, sometimes she’d feel a pain shoot through her spine and anxiety would fill her body immediately. It’d be nothing to worry about, but Ava couldn’t help it, the fear would be with her forever.

“Yeah yeah, so when’s the wedding? Seriously, just get it over with already.” Ava pokes fun at Shannon lightheartedly. “Just to clarify, I _will_ be the maid of honour, and that’s not a request, it’s a _fact_.”

Shannon makes a zipping motion over her lips. Ava won’t be getting anything more out of her. She’d been suspicious of Shannon after catching her browsing through pictures of rings on her phone that very much had a ‘proposal’ look to them, the other woman had simply brushed it off and slipped her phone into her pocket. Ava had attempted to bring the topic up a few times, but it seemed Mary was entirely oblivious as to her girlfriend’s plans, and Shannon hadn’t slipped up since the incident. 

Shannon clears her throat and raises an eyebrow at Ava. “Now more importantly, what’s this I’m hearing about you chatting up women in bars?”

Ava blushes slightly, cursing Mary silently in her head. “I have _no_ idea what it is you’re talking about.” She averted her eyes, and scratched at a spot behind her right ear. 

“Oh really? So you didn’t leave the Cradle with a mysterious woman the other night…” Shannon pretends to think hard about it, a smirk on her lips.

Ava stares down Shannon, eyes narrowing as her resolve crumbles. “Okay, fine, yeah I met someone. Her name’s Beatrice and she’s really nice, and cool, and smart, and-“

“Alright! Alright I get it, she's amazing.” Shannon says whilst chuckling.

“Everytime I think about her my brain just turns into mush, and I know it’s like that twenty four seven, but like, it’s _especially_ mushy when it comes to Bea.” Ava sighs dramatically.

“I’m just glad you’re putting yourself and your mushy brain out there.” Shannon says, reaching out and gently ruffling her hair. “You deserve to meet someone good for you.” 

Ava let the words sink in, appreciating Shannon’s kindness. “What can I say, no one can match up to me.” She puts the conversation back into a lighthearted mood, emotional talks had always been difficult for her. 

Shannon recognises that Ava’s trying to evade any topics of the emotional kind so she lets it go. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I should get going now.”

“Have a great night!” Ava singsongs, winking at Shannon as she leaves.

Ava gets into work mode, tying her brown, leather apron around her waist and heading to the front. She serves the customers that walk in, a few regulars and a lot of tourists she’ll probably never see again. It was always fun to come up with wild backstories for them, it helped pass the time during the less busy hours. 

One of her coworkers on shift, Florence, goes on break when the afternoon rush dies down. It’s just her and Mateo behind the counter, they talk in hushed tones as they clean, eyes flitting around the café. Ava’s sorting out the shelves under the till, her eyes barely visible over the top of the counter as she searches for an interesting looking person.

She nods in the direction of an elderly gentleman wearing a three piece suit, shiny brogues and feathered fedora. “He’s the head of a respected mafia, but he’s forever haunted by a job that went wrong thirty years ago. He spends all of his time seeking vengeance for his brother...and baking banana bread.”

Mateo raises an eyebrow and holds back a snicker. The bell above the door rings, he glances over and an idea pops into his head. “Oh this one’s good. She’s a quiet librarian by day, but by night, she’s the finest assassin in all of Europe. Maybe even the world.”

Ava takes a peek from under the counter, wanting to see this impressive woman and freezes. Mateo looks down at Ava and sees the expression on her face.

“Ah, I’ll let you serve her _niña_.” He says, going to clear a table with a sparkle in his eyes, clearly catching onto the young woman’s intentions. Ava ducks back down under the counter, pretending to occupy herself with the cleaning equipment. 

_Beatrice is here. I repeat, Beatrice is here!_

The angel and devil appear on her shoulders- well, Camila is on the top of her head, but she jumps down and lands on Ava’s shoulder gracefully.

_How do I look?_

“You look great Ava, don’t worry!” Camila says reassuringly.

_What should I say?_

“Preferably something along the lines of: _what would you like today?_ ” Lilith says from where she’s laying down on Ava’s other shoulder, her hands behind her head.

_Okay, I walked into that one. But after that?_

“Actions speak louder than words. Show off a little.” The devil says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

_And how would I do that?_

Lilith hops off of Ava’s shoulder onto the floor. “Hey, just do what I'm doing.” She shoves her red suit jacket off and starts doing push ups on her fingers, swiftly moving into handstand push ups with ease.

_Wha- what does that have to do with anything?_

“No no, she’s got a point.” Camila says somewhat dreamily, eyes focused on Lilith’s form.

_Okay...so you guys want me to start doing push ups...in the café._

“I mean, it’s not the _worst_ idea.” Camila chips in, giggling as Lilith winks at her.

“Remember what I said about confidence?” Lilith stands up and starts stretching her arms behind her head, flexing subtly, and Ava is so very close to rolling her eyes. “Win her over with that classic Ava charm.”

_Camila, are you at all listening to what we’re saying?_

“Uh huh.” Camila says, not at all listening to what they’re saying, obviously far too focused on the devil. She shakes herself out of her stupor and shoots Ava a sheepish grin. “Sorry Ava, I was admittedly a little...distracted. But Lilith isn’t far off the mark, as Ursula says, don't underestimate the importance of body language!”

_You've been watching ‘The Little Mermaid’ way too much lately. Plus, Ursula is totally evil and probably shouldn’t be listened to._

“Hey! I’m standing right here.” Lilith shouts, partially offended by Ava’s words. 

“Lily, how much can you lift?” Camila is distracted again almost immediately and Ava just sighs.

_Ah Jesus, both of you, begone._

They both disappear in a poof of smoke. Ava hauls herself up off the floor and is all of a sudden face to face with Beatrice. 

“Oh, hey Bea!” Ava says like she’d only just noticed the other woman’s presence, and didn’t just have a lengthy internal discussion about her. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hi Ava, I didn’t know you worked here.” Beatrice greets her politely, pleasantly surprised at the appearance of the other woman. “I stumbled upon this café the other day.”

“Well you only managed to stumble into the best café in Barcelona, if not the world.” Ava boasts with pride. “What can I get you?”

Beatrice orders a shot of espresso and a slice of madeira cake. She pays, grabs her order and takes a seat in the corner of the café, taking out her laptop and slipping her glasses on.

Ava wishes that she had her camera on her, and she meant that in a completely not weird way. She just wanted to memorialise the image of Beatrice wearing glasses. She tried not to get distracted from her work, but her eyes kept drifting over to the translator’s table.

Beatrice’s eyebrows are furrowed slightly as she concentrates on her laptop screen. She’s typing intensely, occasionally taking a sip of her coffee when her typing slowed down. She’s surrounded by a few books, various sticky notes popping out from the pages within. Ava watches as a strand of hair falls out of Beatrice’s low bun, the other woman swiftly pushing it back behind her ear with those _hands._ Ava could write an essay on those perfect appendages (which sounded a lot less weird a few seconds ago).

Beatrice looks up suddenly and catches Ava staring, she quickly pretends to be squinting at the clock on the wall behind Beatrice, who goes back to her work.

_Phew. Close call._

“Close call? _Close call?!_ Ava she _clearly_ saw you making googly eyes at her.” Lilith groans, smacking her forehead with the flat of her palm.

“You could learn some subtlety.” Camila says, shrugging up at Ava. 

“I don’t think she even knows what the word means.” Lilith whispers loudly, leaning over to look at the angel.

Ava pushes herself off the counter suddenly, smirking at the way Lilith nearly falls off her shoulder. The devil shoots her a dirty look before pressing down the lapels of her red suit, patting the invisible dust off her shoulders.

“Why don’t you give her another slice of cake? On the house, she’ll probably appreciate it considering how stressed she looks.” Camila advises, Ava glances over at Beatrice, she’s pinching the bridge of her nose looking very stressed indeed.

_Good idea!_

Ava plates a slice of madeira cake, and makes her way to Beatrice’s table. Her palms feel sweaty but she plasters on a charming smile regardless of the lump forming in her throat. She tries to say ‘hey!’ but her mouth is suddenly drier than the Sahara desert, so all she manages to get out is a strangled kind of choke.

Beatrice looks up, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Hey! I saw you working hard and thought you might need to keep your energy up. Don’t worry, it’s on the house!” Ava places the plate on the table, making sure to keep it away from any of the important documents and her laptop.

Beatrice props her glasses on the top of her head and Ava feels her heart race faster at the sight. The other woman smiles up at her, looking slightly dumbfounded.

“That’s... that’s really kind of you Ava, thank you.” Beatrice says, her smile growing as she considers the barista.

“It’s no biggie, think of it as paying you back for the uber.” Ava says with a wave of her hands, leaning her hip against the table casually.

Beatrice chuckles under her breath. “We can’t keep paying each other back. We’d never stop.

“I mean...I’d be okay with that.” Ava says, prompting another laugh from Beatrice. She loved making people laugh, but making Beatrice laugh was something else.

“I suppose I should take a break.” Beatrice looks down at her documents, fingers drumming against the table. “I um- I don’t suppose you’d like to join me? If you’re able to, of course.”

Ava tries really, _really_ hard to not stupidly grin at the offer, but she’s not sure if she’s done a good job of hiding it. “Yeah sure! I haven’t taken my break yet. I’ll just go get my lunch.”

Ava spins on her heels and does a mini fist pump to herself once she’s out of Beatrice’s line of sight, then she tries to regain her composure (keyword _tries_ ) as she heads towards the staff room. 

“Hey, Flor, Mateo, I’m gonna take my break now.” Ava lets her coworkers know as she heads to the back, getting an ‘okay!’ and thumbs up in return. She takes her apron off, hanging it up on the coat hook and puts her leather jacket on. She glances in the mirror and fiddles with her hair, smoothing down non existent crinkles in her outfit. Grabbing her lunch, she walks out back to the front, finding her usual coffee order ready on the counter. She thanks Florence and walks towards Beatrice; the table is clear of her laptop and documents. 

Ava slides into the chair opposite, trying not to look as jittery as she feels. “So what are you working on? Looks pretty intense.” She asks, shuffling her chair closer to the table.

“It’s a bestseller spanish novel. You’ve probably heard of it, _En esta vida_ , I’m working closely with the author on translating it into English.” Beatrice explains, taking a sip of her coffee.

Ava’s eyes widen as she recognises the name of the book. “Damn! That’s a sweet gig. How many languages can you understand?”

“Well I’m proficient in English, Spanish, German, French and Latin. I’m currently in the process of learning Japanese, trying to branch out to non-European languages too.”

“ _Latin?_ Yeesh, it must be tiring carrying that brain of yours around.” Ava chuckles, levelling Beatrice with an impressed look.

“Well- I-” Beatrice clears her throat as her cheeks go a faint shade of red. “Thank you. I think.”

She looks back at Ava with those hypnotising amber eyes, the corners of her eyes creasing slightly as she smiles at the compliment. 

“I- I’m sorry, you probably don’t wanna be talking about work during your break.” Ava apologises with a sheepish grin, breaking the eye contact and focusing on her sandwich instead. 

Beatrice smiles at Ava, “It’s alright. I love what I do, I don’t mind talking about it.”

“That’s me with photography. I could go on for hours about it.”

Beatrice leans back slightly in her chair, it’s the first time Ava’s seen her break her perfect posture. “Well, I’ve got the time.”

They spend the entirety of Ava’s half an hour break talking about their passions. Beatrice doesn’t seem to mind the distraction, more than happy to take her mind off of work for a while. Ava worries that her rambling will bore the other woman, but Beatrice never once shows any signs of annoyance throughout their conversation. She listens attentively and looks visibly relaxed, laughing along at Ava's vignettes of photoshoots that went wrong. However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and Ava’s break was over in what seemed like mere minutes to the barista.

Ava glances at the clock on the wall, “Ah shoot, I’ve gotta get back to work now.”

“Oh of course, I won’t keep you any longer.”

Ava wants to reply with a cheesy phrase, something along the lines of ‘you can keep me as long as you’d like’, but she barely knows Beatrice and that would be weird, right?

“Yes, Ava, that would be weird.” Lilith mutters.

_Right, thanks._

“We should hang out when you have the time.” Ava says, getting up reluctantly and pushing her chair back under the table. She’s not quite ready to leave, wanting to spend as much time as she could with Beatrice. "You know, preferably not whilst I'm working."

“I’d like that, although I am going to be a bit busy soon. I have a few deadlines coming up.”

“You’re in high demand huh, and with good reason too.” Ava winks, feeling her confidence inflate as Beatrice holds back a smile. “We’ll figure something out. Maybe after you’ve got the important stuff out of the way?”

“Of course.” Beatrice says before her phone starts ringing, interrupting their conversation. She glances at the caller ID and shoots Ava an apologetic look, “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

Ava nods quickly and understandingly, waving a silent goodbye. Beatrice returns it with a bright smile, which quickly reverts back into her serious look as she focuses on the call. With a quiet sigh Ava goes to the staff room and puts her things away, she ties her apron around her waist and makes her way to the front. The café door is ajar, and the table where Beatrice had just sat is empty.

Ava physically deflates at the sight, she pulls her shoulders back and takes a deep breath, getting back into work mode. She had hoped to spend a little bit more time with Beatrice, even if it just consisted of her sneaking glances in the other woman’s direction. She makes her way behind the counter, only to be met with two sets of intrigued eyes.

“So...who was that?” Florence asks with her eyebrows raised, playful smirk on her face.

Ava groans and waves them off, “Don’t you start.”

She walks past them, trying her best to keep a straight face, but catches her reflection in the chrome coffee machine. With a grin on her face she turns to greet the customer approaching the counter.

The image of Beatrice stays with her all day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo sorry for the short-ish chapter! I didn't have this one planned originally so I spent a load of time perfecting it. Also who else has watched Bly Manor?? (Netflix gays I expect you to have) I've pretty much spent the past week crying over Damie 😭
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapterrr! Thank you for reading! 🥰


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